Parents still dark and super slimy days after fry removal...?

[Melissa]

So it's been like 5-6 days since I separated my pair from 40+ fry... And both parents are still super dark and look like they have a very thick white layer of slime on their bodies. Is this normal???

[Melissa]

:confused:

[William Palumbo]

Not sure why they look like that. I had never seen that on my pairs after separation. A bit dark for a short while, but not for long. Can they still see the fry?...Bill

[Melissa]

Yes they can.... hmm....

I thought it was weird they were still dark and slimey... Maybe a bit of salt next WC then... i'll wait and see what happens. they're still eating and such. Thanks for the response Bill! I'm a newbie to breeding... obviously LOL:)

[jimg]

I have had this on a pair of golden leopards had fry. After a week of daily 50% wc's they didn't improve, I ended up loosing the male. I gave her a pp bath at 2ppm for 4 hrs then into 1 tbsp salt per 10 gal. with excellent results.

[William Palumbo]

I have had parental behavior after fry separation, when the fry/parents were right next to each other...tho not to the extent you are experiencing. I guess seeing the fry still triggers feeding,(slime) as I know the fry would all congregate on the side of the tank next to the parents, trying to get back to them. If not...try Jim's advice, as you don't want to lose a breeder(s)...Bill

[Melissa]

I have had parental behavior after fry separation, when the fry/parents were right next to each other...tho not to the extent you are experiencing. I guess seeing the fry still triggers feeding,(slime) as I know the fry would all congregate on the side of the tank next to the parents, trying to get back to them. If not...try Jim's advice, as you don't want to lose a breeder(s)...Bill

I have a stock solution of PP handy, I think my gut tells me there is something going on... So I think I'll do one 4 hr 2 ppm treatment on both of them. It couldn't hurt right?
Thanks Jim and Bill!

[jimg]

not at all. make sure tank is very clean. do in hospital tank or make sure tank they are in is very clean. remove filter during treatment, add air stone. if using hob put air stone in to keep o2 to bacteria if canister or sponge run in bucket of tank water. follow up with salt for couple days.
Good luck with them!

[Melissa]

Thank you Jim!
I'm thinking I may have bigger problems than I realized.

I have one fry acting funny... Jittering around instead of swimming smoothly.
The fry are 18 days free swimming, looking good and getting bigger every day except for the one being weird right now...There's about 40 or so of them.

I feed them BH mix, which seems to be becoming a favorite, BBS and golden pearls.
I religiously vacuum up poo throughout the day, I'm a stay at home mom so I'm here all of the time... And I never let uneaten food sit longer than 30-45 minutes. 50% + wc's every evening... Which I think is good because they are in a 60 gallon, sectioned off to the side with a divider so they can feel safe and stay together...
Wipe down and squeeze the sponge daily too...

So what do I do?

I'm thinking maybe the parents have an external issue going on, so maybe this fry has succumbed to whatever the parents are carrying. I want to nip this in the bud before it becomes a disaster.

Can you PP 3 week old fry? FMG? Any advice would be appreciated, thank you!

[jimg]

The fry is probably just deformed, a cull. this can happen to a few out of a batch. some stay real small and scoot around the tank, bottom sliders some call them. unless more and more of them each day start acting like that one, don't worry. I would not treat them with pp.
I do not agree with the everyday wipe down and sponge cleaning, I do 30% wc daily and 80% +- every 3-4 days after wipe down. then lightly rinse sponge once a week. best to avoid "mini cycles",which I have gotten cleaning too much. but that is what works for me. more wc's do not hurt, just a waste of water imo.Unless of course you feed very heavy.

[Melissa]

Lol I feed very heavily, they love the BH mix from Chad at San Diego Discus. That stuff is freaking amazing, from the get go all of my fish love it and it fattened them all up n wks. He's got a great recipe!
Anyhow, I squeeze the sponge daily because little BH particles collect in it/on it. Even if this tank wasn't cycled, I don't think there's enough time for anything to start gunkin up or decompose in there :-) thanks for the concern though! I totally get what you're saying.

As for this fry acting odd, I'm keeping a close eye on him and the rest to see if any thing changes. Don't want to call him a cull just yet, he's one of the bigger ones... Looks like he's been doing fine. I hope you're right though!

Btw Jim, I love your avatar. Beautiful fish!

[jimg]

Keep an eye on ammonia/nitrites, maybe problem with adults. watch the fry close, usually the smallest are the ones that do that, not the biggest. Do you have a microscope?
Also if tank is not cycled, 50% wc's will not be enough you would have to do at least 90%.

[Melissa]

No worries Jim, the tank IS cycled, and I'm super vigilant about water params. The parents are in a separate tank that sits across from this one and they are with 4 other fish that are doing great and are seemingly healthy.

[Melissa]

Oh, and no scope. But I may know someone who does have one. I'll give them a call in the morning to find out. Gosh, this year has been the year from hell as far as disease outbreaks and what not! I'd never had a single sick fish before a few months back! Ahh!

[jimg]

I will never again say or think how good my tanks are doing, it's usually a day after something happens! every time!

[William Palumbo]

That sux Jim!...I "learned" that too as well over the years!...Bill